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St. Louis Metropolitan Area and surrounding Missouri and Illinois counties

County would pitch in to improve D, DD
Officials explore cost-share option to add shoulders


By Joe Scott
Saturday, October 31, 2009 3:11 AM CDT


St. Charles County officials said they're willing to contribute cost-share funds to add shoulders to state highways such as D, DD, F, Z and 94.

A Missouri Department of Transportation engineer also said the project would be a good candidate for MoDOT's cost-share funds.

"I'm willing to talk to MoDOT about anything to try to get this fixed," County Executive Steve Ehlmann told the County Council Monday. "We'd be in great shape to do that because we have a dedicated (sales) tax (for transportation projects). If you're so inclined, you could dedicate a portion of that (revenue) to a project like this."

MoDOT Area Engineer Jim Gremaud said he believes improvements to highways such as D and DD would be a good fit for the cost-share program because MoDOT already has targeted the roads for improvement.

"So it's something we think is enough of a priority to make them a part of our 20-year vision," Gremaud said. "To me, that makes it a viable candidate to receive cost-share funds."



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Council Chairman Joe Brazil, R-District 2, said he would support using county funds to fix the lettered routes. Brazil co-hosted an Oct. 22 meeting with the Shoulders fOr Safety (SOS) group, which brought residents, state and local officials and law enforcement officials together to discuss improving the roads.

"Is it our responsibility to pay for improvements to state highways? No," said Brazil, who lives in Defiance. "But if it requires cost-share funds to get it done, I believe the county will be willing to do that."

Sherry Cybularz, who started the SOS group, said she and other SOS members don't care where the money comes from as long as the roads are improved. "We're definitely not limiting ourselves or saying no to any resources," she said.

The group is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 1) at New Melle's Fireside restaurant. The group's Facebook page now has more than 500 members, and more than 400 people packed the Oct. 22 meeting.

"This is going to be a long, hard fight," Cybularz said. "When we moved here eight years ago, I said, 'Surely there will be shoulders on the road by the time my boys are driving.' Eight years have come and gone. But at least we're moving forward."

The largely rural, two-lane highways have no shoulders on roughly 60 miles of pavement. Some areas have roadside drop-offs and deep culverts. A good portion of the lanes are 10 1/2 feet wide, narrower than the state's standard of 12 feet, and run through hills and sharp curves.

A total of nine deaths have occurred on those highways in 2009, as compared to nine during the period from 2004 through 2008. Traffic from new housing, new schools and three quarries and heavy traffic to wineries in the Defiance and Augusta areas have increased the volume of traffic. With new residential developments being planned, traffic counts can be expected to continue increasing.

"Now the state has to put their money where their mouth is," Brazil said. "We put the ball back in their court, so let's see what happens now."

Gremaud said MoDOT's $30 million in cost-share funds for 2010 already are committed, and it might be several years before more funds are available through the program.

MoDOT's St. Louis Metro District engineer, Ed Hassinger, would have to recommend the project for cost share, then it would need approval from the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission.

Ehlmann and Gremaud said local governments provided funding for similar projects in the past. Gremaud said Washington, Mo., used cost-share funds to widen Highway 100 to four lanes. In the 1980s, O'Fallon loaned money to MoDOT to speed up improvements to Highway K, Ehlmann said.

He said he was surprised that a MoDOT official suggested cost-share funding, because other counties that do not have funds for similar projects might balk at the agreement.

On Monday, the council adopted a resolution urging the state to reduce the speed limit on Highway DD, from Highway 40 to 500 feet west of Frontier Middle School, to 45 miles per hour from the current 50 mph. Because the road is a state highway, any change in the speed limit would need approval from the Highways and Transportation Commission.

 
 
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2 comment(s)

 

burt 360 wrote on Nov 5, 2009 9:31 AM:

" Ernie3 consider yourself very lucky that in 18 years you have not been involved in any accidents on one of those roads. I lived on one of those roads and saw many accidents that I could have been easily involved in. I also have friends who have been injured or killed from driving them. Things do have to change with the growing population. My question to you would be what are you going to do when you are innocently driving along and you have another vehicle 2 feet into your lane coming at you at 50 mph, quick you have only a second or two to think about it. When that happens maybe you will seen the need for improvements. "

Ernie3 wrote on Nov 2, 2009 6:21 PM:

" This just makes me wonder why someone wants to move to area and then change things that are/were part of the reason they moved to this area. This area has always been like this, each time I leave my family reminds me to drive slow and careful on these roads in this area and I have been drive here for the last 18 years. "

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